Automatic molding apparatus



May 1, 1956 l.. c. HARLOW E'rAx. 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 3l, 1951 17 Sheets-Sheet l :imm ll l 1 I Wwlmllli AT'rGNEY May 1, 1956 L. c. HARLOW ET AL 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS 17 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 51, 1951 H l'f.

VENTORS ATTORNEY May 1, 1956 L. c. HARLow Erm. 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 31, 1951 17 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEY mk@ @s mm.. NM .mg

May 1, 1956 l., c. HARLOW ET AL 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS `F'ned oct. 51, 1951 1"/ sheets-sheet 4 .Alg-f A a l i 4Z nl I; y c l w "iff i Ilm ATTORNEY May 1, 1956 L. C. HARLQW ET AL AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS 17 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Oct. 31. 1951 ATTORNEY Mayr 1, 1956 l.. c. HARLow ETAT. 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS Filed oct. 31, 1951 17 'sheets-sheet 7 WQ uw um um ATTO R N EY May 1, 1956 L.. c. HARLoW ETAL 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. .'51, 1951 17 Sheets-Sheet 8 ff f5 l V N TO R S /ainm' jaa/aw ma May 1, 1956 L. c. HARLOW ET AL 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 51, 1951 17 Sheets-Sheet 9 -rgTmmwmmTally t' fzf" liM/ Ff? 7 742/72/ i f v J/'Affl -L l, w ffm ifa-f J4 :fz i n n u JWN :il l l .2154 42a Id /W j!! 760 INVENTORS Zai/M' .ezaw my@ T pam/cy Y, ,f1/7H ATTORN EY May 1, 1956 l., c. HARLOW ETAL 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS MIMI Z 77g v ATTORNEY May 1, 1956 1 c. HARLOW ETAL 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDTNG APPARATUS Filed oct. 51,1951 17 sheets-Sheet 11 7Z f6 fi ff ,0a a

mmm t' AHMAIT i f ATTORNEY May 1, 1956 l.. c. HARLOW .E1-Ax. 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS Filed oct. s1, 1951 17 sheets-sheet 12 f @i A W//// 4 ATTORNEY May 1, 1956 L. c. HARLOW ET Ax. 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS Filed 0G12. 45]., 1951 17 Sheets-Sheet l5 l VENTORS ain/,vi 6. #eww ,4A/a

ATTO R EY May 1, 1956 l.. c. HARLOW ET AL 2,743,478

' AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 3l, 1951 17 Sheets-Sheet 14 NIMWQ it?? INV TORS afp/,vi c. zemwm ATTORNEY May l, 1956 L. c. vHARLOW ET AL AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 15 Filed oct. :51, 195i M Y l m Mr R VIM o w? m EV ya WA w NQ .4...d

May 1, 1956 L. c. HARLOW ET AL 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MOLDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 5l, 1951 1'7 Sheds-Sheet 16 INVENTORS ATTORNEY May l, 1956 Filed Oct. 5l 1951 c. HARLOW ET AL 2,743,478

AUTOMATIC MoLDING APPARATUS 17 Sheets-Sheet 1'7 MMA;

ATTORNEY IHA.

`rectangular pieces called biscuits molding a record, rst placed a label on each of the l eUnited States Patent O AUTOMATIC MoLDING APPARATUS :Loraine C. Harlow, Greenfield, and Quincy E. Smith, Indianapolis, Ind., assignors to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application October 31, 1951, Serial No. 254,034

16 Claims. (Cl. 185.3)

This invention relates to improved molding apparatus,

rand, more particularly, to apparatus for accomplishing,

automatically, several of the manufacturing steps which have previously been carried out manually in connection with molding certain types of articles from synthetic resin l compositions.

Although the apparatus of the present invention may be yused for molding many different types of articles from `composition's including one or more resinous binders, with ror without fillers and small percentages of other ingredients, such as plasticizers and stabilizers, itis especially adapted for the automatic manufacturing of phonograph records.

Prior art In the past, phonograph records have been molded by In general, the compression molding process for making disc records has been about as follows: The molding composition, after mixing inaBanbury type mixer, has

been sheeted on large rollers, scored, and cut into flat Ari operator, in

`upper and lower molds, then placed one of the biscuits over the label on the lower mold face. The biscuit may .have been preheated to soften it somewhat- The operator then operated an air valve which closed :the press platens and started the operation of a timer lwhich controlled a cycle of heating and cooling operations within the platens. At the end of the cycle, the' kpress opened automatically. The operator next removed `the record from the lower platen manually. Since the record still had a ring of dashing attached, this had to be removed. lf the composition was of the 'unfilled type, the flashing ring either had to be severed by running a knife around the record or, more recently, it was trimmed off in a punch and die apparatus. The record had to be hand-fed to the trimming apparatus, however.

There have been several variations to the above process in common use depending, mostly, on the type of composition being used. For example, compositions consisting essentially of a resin, such as Vinylite, have also been applied to the mold in pellet form instead of in biscuit form.

Summary of present invention The present invention provides completely automatic apparatus for accomplishing mechanically all of the steps in the above described process which were previously performed manually. More specifically, the apparatus of the present invention provides, in addition to the conventional compression molding press having a set of molding platens and means for opening and closing ythe 2,743,478 Patented May 1',

on, (2) means, also responsive to the opening of the f platens, for placing a charge of moldable material between the platens, after the labels have been positioned (if labels are used), (3) means responsive to opening of the platens for removing a molded article from the platens and carrying it to a remote position, and (4) means disposed at the remote position for performing certain finishing operations including the trimming of the flashing from the article and disposing of the ashmg.

Objects of the invention One object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for manufacturing molded articles.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus for manufacturing articles molded from resinous compositions.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide novel apparatus for automatically performing a number of steps in disc record manufacturing. A

Another object of the invention is to provide improved automatic molding apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to compression molding apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus for automatically providing molded articles with molded-in labels. k

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for introducing a charge of moldable material between the vplatens of a compression molding press.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for removing a molded article from'between the latens of a molding press and carrying the article to a position remote from the platens.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for trimming flashing from a molded article.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel apparatus for accomplishing in timed and synchronized sequence the operations of: positioning labels on either or both platens of a compression molding press, introducing a charge of moldable material between the platens, closing the platens, carrying out a cycle of heating and cooling steps within the closed platens, opening the platens, removing the molded article and carrying it to a nishing station, and performing certain finishing operations on the article.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus for accomplishing automatically and in timed sequence at least one of the following manufacturing steps accompanying a compression molding operation of conventional type: positioning labels on either platens, introducing a charge of moldable material between the platens, removing a molded article from the press and carrying it to a remote location, and performing one or more finishing operations on the pressed article.

Still another object of the invention is to provide novel apparatus for accomplishing automatically, in timed provide improved sequence, the steps of: positioning labels over the center pins of sound record molds seated on upper andlower the platens, and performing one nor more finishing opera- .tions on the record.

These and other objects will be more apparent and the or both press ananas 3 invention will be more readily understood from the following detail @surprise and the gewenning illustrativ drawings, of which:

Le f feats Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of apparatus showing most of the features ofthe' present invention and including the molding press with'its platens in closed position, near the end of a pressing cycle,

Figure 2 is a right hand end'elevation view of the molding press portion of the apparatus shown in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a plumbing diagram of the air and water connections of the completev apparatus as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3a is a detail view of the vacuum connections to the u'pper and lower 4label loaders,

Figure 4 is a partial perspective view taken at the same angle as that of Figure l of the molding press and a part of the extrusion apparatus, with the press p latens open and the upper labelbeing applied,

ligure 5 isa from elevati@ view 0f one embodiment of upper label stack holder that may beV a part of the present invention, i

Figure 6 is a sideV elevation vievt ot the apparatus of Figure 5,

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in section, of a valve and valve tripping mechanism operated by'movement of the lower press pla/ten,

Figure` 8, is an end View takenl'n the line 8.-8 of Figure?, Y l i Figure 9 is an elevation view, partly in section, of either of the 'label pick-upbcu`ps and label stack platforms which may be included in apparatus of the presentV invention,

Figure, 10 is an elevation view of the apparatus of Figure 9 with the cup lifted from the` label stack,

Figure 11 is al top plan view, partly broken away, of the upper label transfer mechanism which is a part of the present invention,

Figure 12 is a side: elevation view of the apparatus. of Figure 11,

Figure 13 is an elevationV view, partly in section, of a lower label stack holderin accordance, with the present invention, the stack holderl being in itslower position,

'Figure 14 is a view similar tothat of` Figure 13 but with theY stack holder in its raised position,

AFigure 15` is a front elevation view, partly in section, of the, lower label transferA mehanisrn included in the present invention,

'Figure 16 is a side elevation view, partly in section, taken along lthe line 16T-160i, Figure 15, showing the label loader arm in` raised position in phantom,

Figure 17 is a front elevation View, partlyin section, of a complete embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the present invention, with the press platens in closed position,

Figure 18 is a partial lside elevation View of an embodiment of molding compound` transfer mechanism which may be a part of the present invention,

Figure 19 is a top plan view,V of the apparatus of Figure 18,

Figure, 20 is atop planpdetail view of thecup portion of the apparatus of Figures 18 and 19 with the cup doors open,

Figure 21 is a perspective view of the apparatus of Figures 18 and 19showing the` mechanism inthe act of opening the compound cup doors,

Figure 22 is a detail view, partly in section, of the tripping pin portion of the apparatus of Figure21, with the pin in lowered position,

Figure 23 is a view of the apparatus of Figure 22 with thepin in raised position,

Figure 24 is a partial elevation view of the compound transfer mechanism with the compound cup in the act of being positioned beneath the compound extrusionA orice,

Figure 25 is a side elevation view, partly in section, taken along the line 257.125 of Figure 17.,

' Figure 26 is an elevation view, partly in section, of that part of the apparatus of the present invention used to form a depression in the bottom of the gob of molding compound before the compound is placed between the molding platens, the parts being shown as positioned during an extrusion stroke,

Figure 26a is a view similar to that of Figure 26 showing the parts at the beginning of an extrusion stroke,

Figure 27 is a section vilew'take'n along the line 27-27 of Figure 26,

Figure 28 is a side elevation view, partly broken away, of the article remover mechanism which is a part of the present invention,

Figure 29 is atop plan view of part of the apparatus of Figure 28,

Figure 30 is a fragmentary view, shown in section, taken through the press platensy in closed position during thc molding process and showing part of the record remover apparatusofy Figures 28 and 29,

Figurel 3l is a viewy similarf to that of Figure 30 with the` press platens opening after an article has been molded,

Figure 3,2 is a side elevation view, partly in section and partly cut away, taken along the line 252-32 of Figure 17,

Figurer 33 is a side elevation view, partly 'in section, taken alongk the, line 32m-33,A of Figure 32,

Figure 34 is a section viewrtaken along the line E34- 34 of Figure. 32,

Figure 35 is a partial perspective view of one form of punch and die apparatus used to trim molded phonograph records produced in, apparatus of the present invention and including oneformof flash removal apparatus which is a partoithe4 invention,

Figure 36 isa viewsimilar to Figure 35 with the flash remover apparatus in thelact of removing a llashing ring,

Figure` 37 isl an elevation, vlongitudinal section view of a set 1oflupper punching dies such as' maybe used for trimming,phonographrecordslmade on apparatus of thc presentfinventiorfvvith'the centerl punches in duplicate for use on a dual press,

Figure 38 is a'vievv: 'similar to Figure 37 of a set of lowerpunching'dies'l adapted to cooperate with the set shown inl Figure 37, l

Figure 39 is ai, fragmentary view, shown in section, of the large diameter, dies shownin Figures. 37 and 38 in the actof trimming vdashing'.irforna phonograph record,

Figure 4() is apartial side elevation view of the molding presswith bothplat'ens in opcn position,

Figure 41 isa partial perspectiveview ofthe apparatus of Figure 4ttakeniataslightly latertime in the operation cycle, 'and Figure 42 is apartial perspective view of the apparatus of Figure41 at astillflatertime in the operation cycle with the article removercarriagebeing positioned at the second tnishingf station,

Overall description A detail description, of appreferred embodiment of,` a complete apparatus, constructedin accordance with the present invention, will-now` be given. Referring, iirst, to Fig. 1, the complete apparatusl'comprises a conventional molding press 2, preferably of the compression type, having an upper platen 4,and alower platen 6, a device 8 forpositioning'alabel on the upper platen, or on a mold mountedvo'n the platen,'a device 10 for positioning a label on the lower platen (or mold mounted on the platen), a compoundnloading. device 11, an articleremoving device1 12, and an articlefnishing device 14.

It`will be understood, alsofthatfalthougnh thc 'apparatus about to` be,` d "ibed in d etailcornprises a single press, a single compoundfextruder `and a single punch press may be used to yserav'ehat leat, twomo 1ding presses.y A par tial View O f assess@ Press, insluiten arrangement is shown in Figure l17. v

Molding press The molding press may be any one of several conventional variations of compression molding presses. The preferred embodiment, as illustrated in Figure l and others, is one having 'an upper platen 4 mounted on a hinge 16 so that it may open land close pivotally. Referring particularly to Figure 2, means for opening and closing the upper platen may 'comprise a heavy coun-terweight 18, suspended from the rear wall of the platen by means of a projecting arm 20, and a piston 22 mounted within an 'air cylinder 24. One 'end of 'the piston is pivotally connected to the arm. 'The piston is operated by compressed air admitted to the top of the cylinder through an air line 26 and to the bottom of the cylinder through an air line 28. Referring -to the plumbing diagram of Figure 3, air is admitted to these Iair lines from air supply -line 30, through a 4-way valve 32.

Air to Ithe 4-way valve 32 is supplied through 4air line 33 which is connect-ed to the main lair line 30. Operation of this valve is cont-rolled by air lines 34 and 37 which are connected to valves Nos. 6 and 7, respectively, of the press timer 35. Air line 34 has in it a valve 36 operated by movement of the lower press platen. Air line 37 has in it a similar valve 39 which is loperated lby a cam 41 on the main camshaft. Further operating details will be given later in the description of a comple-te operation cycle of the apparatus.

The lower pla-ten 6 of the press is mounted for vertical movement between an open yand a closed position. The lower platen is mounted on a rectangular shaped bolster 33, having cylindrical openings 40 in yeach of the four corners thereof, adapted to slide on 'four cylindrical guide posts 42, vertically mounted on the press bed 44.

The bolster 38 is fured on `the top end of la piston 46 mounted within a hydraulic cylinder 48 for vertical reciprocating motion. The piston is moved upward by water under 2,000 lbs/sq. in. pressure admitted to the bottom of the cylinder through a line Si) connected .to a hydraulic water supply line 52 through la 3-way valve 54. Operation of `this valve is controlled by air from an air line 56 connected to valve No. 4 of the press timer. Heavy springs 58 and the weight of the bolster cause the piston to move downward when the water pressure in: the line 52 is cut ofi. The hydraulic cylinder is lalso provided with a drain line 6l) connecting the 3-way valve 54 to the drain 62.

Conventional means may also be provided for locking the upper platen in its closed position. In the embodiment illustrated, this ylocking means `comprises the upper portions of 'the two upward-ly extending guide posts 42 mounted near the forward edge of the bolster 38, the top portions of these posts being constituted of rectangular metal blocks 64 having horizont-ally extending keyways 66 therein. The upper platen is provided with recessed portions 68 (see Figure 4) at the forward corners there-oi", the recesses being dirnensioned to fit yclosely over the blocks 64 when the upper pla-ten is closed. A pair of cylindrical bolts 70, mounted on the upper platen, are adapted to be moved with a horizontal reciprocating motion into and out of `locking engagement with the keyways 66 by means of an air cylinder 72 and piston 74 together with 'a mechanical linkage 76. Air is admitted to the upper and lower ends of this cylinder through air v lines '78 and Sil, respectively. The upper air line 78 is connected las a branch of air line 2S which supplies air to 'the lower end of air cylinder 24 which is used to open and close the upper press platen. In the air line 7S is a poppet valve 82 positioned on the press frame above the arm 2t) and adapte-d to be operated by movement of this arm. With this valve open, air can be admitted to the upper end of Ithe cylinder 72, causing the piston to move downward and shove the bolts 70 home in the keyways 66. The bolts are withdrawn by admission of air through the line to the vlower end of the cylinder 72. This une is a brancher the air' line 26 leading to thi-.Tapper end of cylinder 24.

Within the platens are conventional vpassages (not shown), through which steam and cold water may be alternately Icirculated in carrying Iout the usual heating and `cooling steps of a molding cycle. Flexible hose connections 89 are provided for connecting the passages to suitable sources of the heating and cooling mediums.v Cold water is supplied through a line 91 opened and closed automatically by a Z-Way valve 93, the diaphragm of which is operated yby an 'air line 95 yto valve No. 2 of the press timer. Steam is admitted rto the molds. 'through a line 97 controlled by a 2-way valve 99 having, -a diaphragm operated automatically by air from |a line: 101 to valve No. l ofthe press timer.

Clamped to the upper and lower platens are molds 84 and S6, respectively, each bearing the negative of the. conto-urs of one-half the molded article. When the article being molded is a phonograph record, these molds carry the negative replicas `of l'the `sound tracks of either sid-e of the record.

The upper label loader One of the important features of the presen-t invention is the means for automatically depositing a label 'on the mold, which is mounted on the upper platen, each ltime the press opens. This label loading device includes means 88 mounted on the press frame for holdin-g a stack of labels land means 9b for picking a label from the stack and centering i t on the mold.

Referring now to Figures 5 and 6, the stack holding means includes la vertically extending spindle 92, the upper portion 94 of which has a diameter slightly smaller than the centering holes 96 of the labels 98 which it is designed to hold. A label stack supportrpla'tform 160 having la `center ope-ning 102, also adapted to iit over the upper portion of the spindle, rides on this upper portion in a manner to permit limited sliding movement thereover. The lower side of the platform rests on 'the upper end of a light `gauge coil spring 164, the lower end of which rests on a base plate 106 hxed to the spindle shaft. Thus, the platform 106 may move up and dow-n on the spindle as more or fewer labels are stacked upon it.

The label platform tba-se p-late 106 is 'connected through Ia yoke 10S to a piston 116, mounted for -vreciprocating motion within an air cylinder 112. The air cylinder is supplied with compressed ai-r from the main air supply line 3i) through a branch 114 of an air line 116 leading from the 'outlet port of a valve 118. The valve 118 is operated by a tripping bar 121) (see Fig. 2) connected to the lower press platen. The platform is raised and lowered at appropriate times during the operations cycle of the apparatus by air supplied to the cylinder 112 through the valve 118 and the air lines in a manner that will be more fully explained in a following section describing 'an operation cycle of the complete apparatus. Referring to Figures 7 and 8, the valve 118 comprises a cylinder 122 having an air intake port 124 and an air outlet port 126. The air intake port is connected tot a branch supply line 115. rlhe outlet port is Iconnected to the outlet line 116. The v-alve cylinder has Ia springbiased plunger 128 for opening and closing these ports,

and a pivoted arm 130 carrying a contact roller 132 against which the tripping bar 12) is pressed when the lower press platen moves upward.

Referring more particularly to Figures 9, l0, 11 and l2, the means 90 for picking up successive labels from the upper platen label stack comprises, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, a pneumatic pick-up device. This device includes a vacuum cup 134 connected to the outer end of an arm 136 pivotally mounted adjacent the leading edge of the upper press plate. Means is provided for automatically causing the vacuum cup to swing inward and deposit a label over the center spindle of the upper platen every time this platen is moved to its open position. 

